Abba Zubair, medical and scientific director of the Cell Therapy Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, wants to test the feasibility of growing stem cells in outer space, cells that could be used to generate new tissue and even new organs in human beings.
There are reasons to believe that stem cells, which are hard to grow in the great quantity they are needed on Earth, will grow much more rapidly in the microgravity environment in space, Zubair thinks. Now the Center for the Advancement in Science in Space has given Zubair a $300,000 grant to test that by placing stem cells in a specialized cell bioreactor in the International Space Station.
It now takes a month to generate enough cells for a few patients, Zubair said. A clinical laboratory in space could provide the answer we all have been seeking for regenerative medicine. ... If you have a ready supply of these cells, you can treat almost any condition and can theoretically regenerate entire organs using a scaffold. Additionally, they dont need to come from individual patients. Anyone can use them without rejection.
The stem cells he plans to grow in space will be stem cells that can induce regeneration of neurons and blood vessels in patients who have suffered hemorrhagic strokes caused by blood clots.
I have a special personal interest in stroke, Zubair said. Thats what killed my mom years ago. I really would like to conquer and treat stroke.
The first step in growing stem cells in space is happening at the University of Colorado where engineers are building the cell bioreactor Zubair will use on the space station. Within a year, Zubair hopes to transport the bioreactor and stem cells to the space station, perhaps aboard a flight by SpaceX, a company expected to begin commercial flights to the space station soon.
Once the bioreactor and stem cells are aboard the space station, it will take about a month to grow them, Zubair said. The results will then be analyzed by the astronauts on the space station and by researches back in Zubairs Jacksonville laboratories.
We will be trying to determine if our notion that stem cells grow faster in microgravity is true, Zubair said. We also want to know how feasible it is to produce clinical grade cells in space that can be used in humans.
Hes optimistic his study will show that growing stem cells in space is a viable way to create stem cells in quantity.
Were quite excited, he said. I really think the future is full of promise. We just have to take the opportunity to make that a reality.